Large numbers of metal castings are used in the building of roads. Such castings typically comprise a flat cover which will be visible from the surface of the finished road, as well as a frame having a substantially vertical side wall and an enlarged base flange. The base flange and side wall are substantially completely covered during construction of the road, leaving the upper surface of the cover substantially flush with the finished road surface. Examples of typical construction castings used in road construction are frame and cover units for catch basins, which provide access to drains, and frame and cover units for maintenance holes. Catch basin frames and covers are usually square or rectangular, and maintenance hole frames and covers are usually circular. Catch basin and maintenance hole castings may weigh about 400-500 pounds.
During road construction, the castings must be moved into position. This is typically accomplished by machinery such as a forklift or backhoe/loader, and may be assisted manually. However, such machinery is not well adapted for lifting and moving construction castings, with the result that moving the castings around a construction site can be inconvenient, time consuming and can involve excessive amounts of manual labour. Due to the weight of the castings, manual handling of construction castings brings with it the risk of personal injury.
There is therefore a need for a device which will improve the handling of construction castings on a construction site, and particularly those which will minimize manual handling of castings.